CHICAGO (GenomeWeb News) – A German team led by Nobel Laureate Harald zur Hausen is using DNA and RNA sequencing as part of its search for unknown animal pathogens with possible roles in human cancer.

In particular, zur Hausen — a German Cancer Research Center investigator best known for discovering a role for high risk human papillomaviruses in cervical cancer — contends that the consumption of beef-borne viruses carried by some types of cattle could theoretically be contributing to rising colorectal cancer rates in some countries.